The missing women
by Skovko
Summary: The Shield is on a mission to find some missing women and close some unsolved cases. In the middle of it all, Roman finds himself drawn to one of the women they find. She places her last shreds of trust on him, and he has to gently force her to go to the hospital while he stays behind. He can't let go of her, and soon he finds himself at the hospital to see her again.
1. On a mission

Roman pulled his knife back out of the chest of the man in front of him. Another man down. He and his two team mates were moving as silently as they could to remain unseen for as long as possible. Use knives before guns to not be heard. That was their usual memo. A gun shot was heard and he gritted his teeth. They had been spotted. Time to shoot their way through everything and everyone as fast as possible.

"Seth?" Roman asked.  
"Got him," Seth's voice came through Roman's earpiece.  
"Dean?" Roman asked.

Another gun shot was heard and then Dean chuckled in Roman's earpiece.

"I got one too," Dean said.  
"How many left?" Roman asked.  
"I see three," Seth answered. "And they're panicking. They probably don't know they're the only ones left."  
"One for each," Roman smirked to himself. "I'll be with you in ten seconds. Don't go hunting without me, boys."  
"I'm on my way too," Dean said.

Roman found Seth and Dean as promised in ten seconds. Dean had arrived just two seconds before Roman. They had never been far apart. They all stared at the three men that were trying to make sense of the gun shots they had heard.

"Ready?" Seth asked.  
"I was born ready," Dean answered.  
"I'll take right," Seth said.  
"Middle for me," Roman said.  
"And that leaves left for me," Dean said. "Let's do this. In 3, 2, 1."

The three men ran in and took down a man each at the same time. The poor suckers never stood a chance with the special task force known as The Shield.

"Keys," Seth said.

He grabbed a set of keys hanging from one of the dead men's jeans loops. Roman nodded at Seth and moved further into the building. They moved quickly from room to room to make sure there were no one left standing. They finally found a locked door by the end.

"Open it," Roman said.

Seth tried a few keys until he found one that fit. He unlocked the door and the three men stepped inside. They all sighed in relief when they found what they had been looking for. Women locked in cages. All of these women had been missing for a shorter or longer time. They weren't sure how many missing cases they were gonna solve by taking this mission but it sure was a lot by the looks of it.

"We're here to help you," Seth said.  
"Please," a woman cried.  
"Seth, unlock the cages," Dean said.

Roman found his phone and called the number where people were waiting to hear back from the three Shield members. The call was answered after one ring by the man who had been working on most of these missing cases for a long time. Detective Kurt Angle.

"What have you got?" Kurt asked.  
"We found them," Roman answered. "I don't know who they are but there's around 15 women here. It's all clear. You can send in your men."

Roman hung up and looked at all the unlocked cages. Women were making their way out of them. Seth and Dean tried their best to help those who needed it. Roman turned his head and watched a blonde woman lying on a mattress in her cage with her back against them all. She hadn't moved at all.

"Shit," he whispered.

He moved into her cage, afraid that they might have been too late for this one. Since she hadn't moved at all to even look at them as they stormed the place, he feared she might be dead. He crouched down behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder. A small shiver went through her. He breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wasn't dead.

"Are you okay?" He asked. "We're here to help you. You're free. No one's gonna hurt you anymore."

When she didn't respond, he leaned further over her to get a look on her face. Her dark grey eyes were open. She was staring at the wall. There wasn't much life behind that look. He didn't need a doctor to tell him. He could see it. She was in a state of depression and probably didn't care about anything anymore. He couldn't blame her.

"I'm Roman," he continued. "Can you tell me your name?"  
"Spring," she said.

He smiled at the sound of her voice. At least she heard him and she understood.

"That's a beautiful name," he said. "What's your last name?"  
"Evans," she said.  
"Spring Evans," he said. "Let's get you out of here. Can you turn around for me?"

She rolled over on her back. It took a few seconds before she actually looked at him. He couldn't begin to imagine what she had been through in this place. He had to look her up when he got home to try and figure out a little bit about her case and when she went missing.

"Let me help you up," he said.

He held out a hand and waited for her to take it. He didn't wanna come across as forceful in any way. When her hand landed in his, it felt like all air was sucked out of him. This was not the time or place to suddenly get weird feelings towards a woman. He kept it within and pulled her up to sit. He stood up and helped her up to stand as well.

"Are you in any pain?" He asked.  
"Yes," she answered.  
"Where?" He asked.  
"Everywhere," she answered.

He gently placed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. He kept holding on to her to try and protect her a little bit as he walked her through the place. When they stepped outside, a lot of vehicles drove up. Police cars and ambulances. She buried her head in his vest as if she didn't want to leave him.

"It's okay, Spring," he said. "They're here to help you."  
"What about you?" She asked.  
"I've already helped you as much as I can. I'm not a doctor. You need to go with them to the hospital," he said.  
"But I wanna stay with you," she said.

A doctor ran up to them and placed a hand on her shoulder. She shivered in fear and tried holding on to Roman. His heart broke for her. Of course she had no idea who to trust in all this, and for some reason she placed her last shreds of trust on him. He didn't want to let her go but he had to. He managed to pull her free so he could look at her.

"You gotta go with them. They're here to help you. It's important that you go," he said.

She didn't say anything. She turned to face the doctor and followed him towards the ambulance. Roman watched as she was helped inside the vehicle. The doors closed and he could no longer see her.

"Are you okay, brother?" Seth asked.

Roman turned his head to see his two brothers in arms standing there.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Roman said. "She was scared. And honestly, who can blame her?"  
"They all are," Dean said.  
"But we got them out," Seth said. "Another job well done."


	2. Twins

The Shield had met up with Kurt Angle early next morning to go over everything. Kurt had gotten all the women's names sorted out to figure out how many missing cases he could finally close.

Roman had done his own research but only on one of them. Spring Evans. He was surprised to see that not a lot had come up. No family members from what he could see. She had been reported missing after not showing up to work for a week straight. That was five years ago. She had been in that hell hole for five long years. No wonder she was depressed.

They had done a good job. They had found a lot of missing women and removed the bad guys from the picture. There wouldn't be a trial since everyone was dead. But Roman couldn't let it go in his mind. He already knew that the night before as he watched her get into the ambulance and leave.

After the meeting with Kurt, he made his way to the hospital to the special wing where the victims were locked up for now. They had to lock them up to keep the press out. Since his name was on the case, he had clearance to get inside. He went directly to the first nurse he saw. Her name badge said Sarah Logan. Roman knew Kurt had specifically asked for this nurse. He knew her from other cases, and he trusted her.

"Roman Reigns," Roman showed Sarah his badge. "I'm here for a checkup with the women."  
"Everyone is being tended to. Family members have been called. It's just a matter of time before they start piling in to bring home their lost girls," she said.  
"What about Spring?" He asked.  
"She got the bruises and scars to prove the hell she went through, but other than that, she only has a bladder infection. She's gonna be on antibiotics for five days," she said.  
"Who's coming for her?" He asked.

She sighed and put her clipboard down.

"No one," she said. "She's the only one who doesn't have anyone as far as I can tell. And she's not really talkative so we can't get any name out of her. She only answers with yes or no when we ask her something. She's depressed for sure. She keeps staring at the wall and doesn't interact with any of the other women."  
"Can I go see her?" He asked.  
"Sure. She's in the first room," she answered. "See if you can make her drink something. She eats and drinks when we tell her to but she doesn't do it on her own. She needs fluid to wash out that infection."

He stepped inside the room where six beds were occupied by six women. They seemed to recognize him by the way they looked at him. He heard someone mumbled a thanks but his eyes were on the last bed. She laid as the night before with her back turned against everyone. He grabbed a chair and walked down to her.

"Hi, Spring," he said.

He placed the chair on the floor in front of her and sat down. She looked at him surprised.

"You came back," she said.  
"I wanted to see you and check up on you," he smiled. "How are you feeling?"

She shrugged. He doubted she could find any words to explain it all to him in that moment.

"That bad, huh?" He said. "I understand. I can't begin to imagine what you've been through. I looked into your case last night. Five years. You were there the longest from what I can tell. Were there anyone there when you arrived who wasn't there yesterday?"

She kept silent for a few seconds while she tried to recall that day five years ago.

"There were two," she said. "Sasha and Bayley. I don't remember their last names. I'm sorry but I don't remember. I wanna help but I don't fucking remember. I just remember them disappearing and not coming back. I know they killed them. I don't know where their bodies are. I'm so sorry, Roman. Please, don't be mad at me."

She started crying and he leaned forward and took her hand.

"I'm not mad," he quickly said.

He held on to her hand and used his free hand to stroke her hair gently.

"You did good. Sasha and Bayley. I'll give those names to Kurt. I'm sure he'll find out who they are if there's an open case on them," he said.

She squeezed her eyes shut to try and press out the tears and deny new ones from falling. She opened them again after a few seconds. He gave her the best smile he could. He knew he was playing an important part here. Sarah had said they couldn't make her talk, but she talked to him. He needed it to keep going, and he wanted to stay close to her.

"They can't find any family members. Don't you have anybody or maybe a friend we can call to let them know you've been found?" He asked.  
"I have a sister," she said.  
"That's great. Tell me about her," he said.  
"Her name is Lacey. We're twins. We had a bad fallout years ago and we haven't talked since. I doubt she even knows I've been missing," she said.  
"Do you wanna tell me what happened?" He asked.

He didn't wanna pressure her into sharing her story but he really hoped she would. For some reason he felt the need to know everything about her and help her somehow.

"We grew up in an orphanage together. No one wanted to adopt us since there were two of us. Instead we were tasked to be free babysitters for all the younger children. I hated it but Lacey loved playing mommy. When we grew up, it was clear she wanted her own children but she couldn't understand why I didn't want the same. I spent years taking care of children. I felt I had done my part. I don't want to do it all over again. It's not for me," she said.

He tried picturing Spring and her sister. Two blonde girls that took their sad path in life in two completely different directions. One wanting to do it all over but do better, and one not wanting to do it at all. He understood both of them.

"We were already fighting over this issue, and then she got pregnant. I was happy for her but she didn't believe me. When she gave birth to Summer and I went to see her, she asked if it didn't make me want one of my own. I answered honestly that no, it didn't, and she got so angry. She accused me of hating her daughter and told me to get out of life. And so I did," she said. "I didn't hate her daughter. I was so happy that Lacey got what she wanted in life. I don't know why she couldn't be happy for me. But I'm no saint either. I think my final words were that I didn't give a shit about her brat. I just wanted to hurt her back. It was so wrong of me."

He was lost for words. Instead he grabbed the bottle of water that was left on the little table next to her bed.

"You gotta drink. That nurse Sarah was on my ass about making you drink. I'm scared what she might do to me if I don't at least make you drink a little," he said.  
"Am I bad person?" She asked.  
"No," he said. "Oh no, little bear, you aren't. Neither is your sister. You were both angry and you hurt each other. I think years of growing up the way you did ended with you taking that hurt out on each other."

She took in his words and turned them around in her head. She slowly pushed herself up to sit with her legs dangling out of the bed. He was happy to see her do something on her own even though it was something as simple and normal as sitting up.

"I think I'd like some water," she said.

He handed her the bottle of water with a big smile on his face. In his book this was a success. She actually asked for the water. He looked over her shoulder to see Sarah standing in the open door. She nodded her head at him and walked out again, probably to tend to some of the other women.

"I used to make lime lemonade," Spring said.  
"Huh?" He looked at her. "Lime lemonade? Is that good?"  
"I think so," she said. "It would be this weird weekend project. I'd made it Saturday evening and put it in the cooler over night. Lazy Sundays with homemade lime lemonade."  
"Sounds like a party," he chuckled.  
"I was never much of a party girl," she said. "I was always a loner. It's hard to let people in when you grow up like I did. Lacey chose to trust people and give them all a chance. I never understood how she did it. I envied that in her."

She finished the water and handed the empty bottle back to him.

"I'm tired," she said.  
"Lie down and get some sleep. Your body needs rest to heal," he said.  
"But I like talking to you," she said.  
"I'll come back tomorrow," he said.  
"You will?" She asked.  
"Yes, I will," he smiled. "I promise."


	3. Little bear

Roman felt nervous moving into the secured wing again next day, but he knew his own nervousness was nothing compared to the woman walking next to him. He had actually managed to find Spring's twin sister Lacey. Lacey had dropped everything and jumped on the first available flight.

"Hi, Roman," Sarah said.  
"How's it looking?" Roman asked.  
"Three already left yesterday. More will be picked up today. We gotta keep some of them for a while due to their injuries," Sarah looked at Lacey. "Who's your friend?"

Lacey looked even more nervous. Of course Sarah had to check. She had to make sure no one from the press entered the area.

"This is Spring's sister Lacey," Roman said.  
"Sister? She actually has someone?" Sarah lit up in a big smile. "I'm so happy to hear that. I worry about her. I worry about all of them but I especially worry about her when no one seemed to know her."  
"I'm here," Lacey piped up.

Lacey hadn't spoken much since Roman went to pick her up from the airport. The woman was clearly nervous and he didn't blame her.

"She's in here," he said.

He walked into the first room with Lacey following after. Spring was lying on her side again with her back against everyone.

"Oh god," Lacey whispered.

Roman walked down to the bed and stepped into the view of Spring. She raised her eyes to meet his. For a second he thought he saw a smile tug on her lips. He knew it meant a lot of her that he kept his promise and came back.

"Hi, Spring," he said. "Are you feeling better today?"  
"Not really," she said.  
"I have someone with me who'd like to see you," he said.  
"Who?" She asked.  
"Hi, sweetheart," Lacey said.

Spring's body went stiff and her eyes went wide. She slowly moved her head towards the voice as if she wasn't sure she had heard things or not. There stood her sister alive and well. She couldn't believe it. She pushed herself up to sit and just kept staring at her sister.

"Oh, sweetheart," Lacey wrapped her arms around Spring. "I'm so sorry."  
"Me too," Spring said.

Roman watched as the two women hugged each other and cried. It was a bittersweet moment but he was happy that he had made it possible. It was clear that they both had missed each other.

"I had no idea," Lacey said. "No one ever contacted me and told me you went missing. And I was an idiot for never trying to reach out over the years. I should have known. I should have been there for you."  
"I walked out on you. It's not your fault," Spring said.  
"Let's forget the past," Lacey said. "Let me see you."

Lacey placed a hand under Spring's chin and studied the face of her sister.

"Still pretty," Lacey said. "Roman, when can she leave this place?"  
"I think she's free to go as long as she remembers to take her antibiotics," Roman said.  
"Do you wanna come home with me?" Lacey asked.  
"Do you have room?" Spring asked.  
"We'll make room," Lacey answered. "I'll make the couch for you. We can go out and buy some really good pillows for you if you want."

Spring took Lacey's hand and sighed.

"I appreciate it but no thank you," Spring said.  
"What?" Lacey asked.  
"I can't live on a couch with a family who doesn't know me. I wanna be in your life again but we gotta take baby steps. I need to be somewhere where I can lock my door and be alone," Spring said.  
"You can stay with me," Roman said.

The words had left him before he had even stopped to think about what he was actually offering. The two women stared at him.

"I have a guest room," Roman said. "But only if you want to, of course. I don't use that room and it has a key so you can lock the door. It can be your own little space. I work a lot so you'll have the house to yourself for many hours each day."  
"That sounds good," Spring said.

Roman couldn't help but feel happy inside. If only Spring knew how good that felt to hear.

"Are you sure?" Lacey asked.  
"Yes," Spring answered.  
"We need to get you some clothes first," Lacey said.  
"There's a thrift store down on the corner from my house. We can stop by there first and get a few items so she has something. In a couple of days we can go shopping for real, or you can send her something since you're the same size. Or you and I can go shopping for her. Whatever works," Roman said.  
"I like thrift stores," Spring said.  
"Alright, go buy some outfits first but no underwear from a thrift store. I'll personally buy that somewhere else. Give me your address, Roman, and I'll stop by in a couple of hours with some things. Meanwhile you can get her out of here and home with you," Lacey said.

Roman was only happy to get Spring checked out. Sarah seemed happy too. One more woman out of this place and on her way to recover and start over. They walked downstairs and Roman unzipped his hoodie and handed it to Spring.

"There might be press hiding outside. They probably take pictures of everyone walking in and out of this building to get a story. Your photo will be easy to run through google image search to find out who you are and that you were part of this rescue mission. None of your names have been revealed to the press yet so they're out for blood," he said.

She accepted the hoodie with a look of gratitude. She put it on and he couldn't help but chuckle when she looked like she was drowning in his big hoodie. She actually gave him a little smile back before lowering her head so that no one could see who was hiding under that hoodie.

He first dropped Lacey off downtown so she could shop for some underwear and other items for Spring. Lacey would take a cab to Roman's place once she was done. Roman and Spring went to the thrift store to get a few outfits for her before they went to his house. She looked around the guest room and nodded.

"So this will be my home for a little while," she said.  
"Stay as long as you want," he said.

She turned around and looked at him.

"Why are you doing all this for me?" She asked.  
"I don't know," he answered. "It just feels right."

She wrapped her arms around his midsection and leaned her head on his chest. He held on to her and they stood like that for a little while.

"Thank you," she said.  
"You're welcome, little bear," he said.  
"I like that pet name," she said.  
"It fits you," he said. "You're strong like a bear. You fought through hell, and you'll continue fighting. There's a little bear inside you."


	4. Broken, worthless, unlovable

Lacey hadn't been able to stay for more than that day. She took a late night flight home. She had her own life to live, and her boss couldn't give her days off without warning. On top of that, she had a husband and a daughter. Although they understood, they also needed her in their lives.

Roman continued with the case at work. It had been a big building where the women had been held. They searched it from top to bottom in two days and took everything with them that they could find. They were scared more people might be connected to this, and they needed to find out for sure.

On the third day everything was packed in boxes and they were going through it all one item at the time. A lot of people were signed on this case. It had been a miracle that Kurt had come across a junkie that was more than ready to talk about that place to get a lesser jail sentence and a promise of being moved to another prison where he didn't fear for his life. It all came down to that one stroke of luck.

"Man, it's a lot," Seth said.  
"Stop complaining," Dean said. "I'm tasked with sorting out all these clothes we found. At least I'm not the one who has to look for DNA on them."  
"You're gonna be fine. You're big boys now," Roman joked.  
"Shut up," Dean said. "I don't see you doing anything."  
"Kurt needs me. We got all those USB drives to look through. I fear what's on them but I volunteered," Roman said.  
"That wouldn't have anything to do with Spring, would it?" Seth smirked. "You're scared that she might be on one of those drives."  
"I'm terrified," Roman confessed. "But I need to know what's on them."

Roman walked into a room where Kurt was waiting with a handful of men. There was a box of USB drives on the table.

"Alright, listen up," Kurt said. "Each USB drive has a female name on it. We had our IT guy crack the code. Luckily for us they used the same code for all the drives. We need to know what's on those drives. Get to it."

Roman looked down in the box and spotted a USB drive with Spring's name on it. He quickly grabbed it before anyone else could. He knew he couldn't keep whatever was on it from the others but he needed to know first.

He walked to his desk, plugged in the USB drive and put on his headphones. A video clip started playing of Spring fighting against two men. A third man was behind the camera. All of them were laughing at her. He recognized the two men from the night of the mission, and he had later learned their names. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. He didn't know who was filming but probably one of the other dead men.

"Keep fighting. Our clients like them fiesty," Karl said.

That was what it was all about. Human trafficking. Forcing women into a life of being raped on a daily basis. He just knew that these videos had been made to send out to their clients so they could see what they had to offer.

He kept watching as Luke got her down on her stomach. Her skirt and panties were ripped off her. Luke managed to open his pants. Roman closed his eyes for a second when Luke entered her and she cried out in pain. He opened them again. He had to watch it all. It was his job.

"Smile to the camera, whore," the man behind the camera spoke.  
"You're a pornstar now," Luke chuckled. "I hear pornstars love taking it up the ass. Let's find out."

The cry that came from Spring a few seconds later was enough for Roman to tear his headset off and pause the video. It was all too much to take in in that moment.

"Do I need to take you off the case?" Kurt asked.

Roman looked towards his boss who apparently had been watching him. Kurt knew Spring was in Roman's home.

"No, I need to do this for her. She needs me," Roman said.  
"It's getting to you. You can't deny that," Kurt said.  
"Can you honestly say that none of this is getting to you?" Roman asked. "You've spent years looking for some of these women. You know damn well there were more USB drives in that box than there were women in those cages. Some of them died in that place. Tell me that's not getting to you after searching for them for so long."

Kurt stepped up to Roman's desk a placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Of course it's getting to me but you have her living in your home," Kurt said. "I get it, Roman. I know you feel the need to do this. But remember that the woman you see on this video isn't the same woman as you have at home. You're looking at a victim right now. You have a survivor at home. She needs to recover. If you can't separate those two, I have to either take you off the case or somehow force you to remove her from your home. I will not allow you to keep her in the victim role rather than helping her move forward."

Roman looked at the screen for a second. He saw a face full of tears. He knew Kurt was right.

"I won't. I promise," Roman said.  
"Good," Kurt said. "I won't blame you if you place that drive back in the box and let someone else watch it. If you click play again, I'm expecting a full report of what you see on my desk soon."

Roman put on the headphones and clicked play again. He couldn't let it go. He needed to know what she had gone through. The video ended ten minutes later after Karl had his share of her as well, and there was nothing else on the drive. As suspected, just a single video to send to their clients. What else had taken place in that hell hole was not on camera. If he wanted to know, he would have to ask her.

* * *

It was pouring down that evening when Roman made it home from work. He ran from his car and inside the house. He had expected to be greeted by Spring since she had done that the other days she had been in his home. He walked through his house and found the door to the garden open. She stood outside in the pouring rain with her face turned towards the sky. He ran out to her.

"What are you doing?" He asked. "You're gonna get sick."

She moved her head back down and opened her eyes. The first thing he noticed was the smile on her face. She was actually smiling a real smile for the first time. She stood there soaked by the rain and she was smiling.

"It's raining," she said.  
"I'm well aware," he said.  
"I haven't felt the rain on my skin in years. It feels good," she said.

So that was it was all about. Something he took for granted, she of course took as a weird blessing. Five years without having been allowed outside of that building. He couldn't begin to put himself into her mindset but he liked the smile on her face.

She suddenly grabbed his jacket and pulled him down for a kiss. For a moment he got caught up in the romantic feeling of kissing in the rain, not to mention how he had dreamed about kissing her since the day of her rescue. It was wrong on so many levels. He broke the kiss and the look on her face said it all. He had hurt her.

"This is not a good idea," he said.  
"I'm sorry," she said.  
"It's okay. You got caught up in the moment. I'm not mad. But we shouldn't," he said. "Come on, we need to get you inside before you catch pneumonia. You need a warm bath. Go take one and I'll see if I can cook something together for us."

He hadn't seen her move that fast before. She almost ran inside. He followed after and listened to her taking what seemed like the shortest shower ever. She moved to her own room afterwards. He finished some fried rice with vegetables and went to knock on her room.

"Dinner," he said.

He got no answer. He knew she was pretending to be asleep. He tried the handle but of course she had locked the door. He couldn't blame her. He sighed and returned to the kitchen to eat on his own. If only she knew what went through his head. What he had watched that same day at work. He had the image of her crying and screaming stuck in his mind. It felt like he took advantage of her if he accepted the kiss even though she was the one making the first move. He finished his dinner and walked back to her door and knocked again.

"I put some leftovers in the fridge if you get hungry. I'm gonna go to bed. We can talk tomorrow," he said.

She listened on the other side of the door but she didn't say anything. She waited an hour and made her way to the kitchen. She didn't feel hungry though. She just couldn't sleep. She looked around aimlessly while opening cupboards and drawers. She opened the knife drawer and stopped. Something came over her that she couldn't control. The need to turn the inner pain to an outer one. A pain that she could master somehow. She grabbed a small knife and some paper towels and went back to her room.

She dropped her pyjamas pants and stared at the knife for a long time. She slowly placed it on her thigh just to feel the cold metal against the skin. She pressed the tip into her skin and started slicing it open while she spoke lowly. One word per line.

"You're broken. You're worthless. You're unlovable," she said.

She stared as blood ran from the three cuts. She grabbed the paper towels and pressed it against her skin. She kept sitting like that for a long time until she was sure she had stopped bleeding. It had made her feel better while she did it but she didn't feel much better now. She placed the knife and the paper towels inside the drawer of the nightstand and put her pyjamas pants back on.


	5. Leaving

Roman had his morning alone. Spring stayed behind her door up until the last minute before he was leaving. It seemed like she had planned it. He didn't have time for more than a few words before he had to get to work.

"Good morning," he said. "Are you okay?"  
"I called Lacey last night," she said.  
"And?" He asked.  
"I'm gonna go stay with her," she said.

He hated hearing that but he understood. After he had rejected her the night before, he got why she wouldn't wanna stay. If only she knew he didn't want to reject her but he didn't have time to go into details in that moment.

"When are you leaving?" He asked.  
"Today," she answered.  
"Today?" He asked shocked.  
"This afternoon. I'll be gone before you get home. Thank you for everything. You've been very kind," she said.

He wanted to stay and argue but he was running late. He did the only thing he had time for. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.

"Take care of yourself, little bear. Call me once you're settled in. Let me know how you're doing," he said.

* * *

Roman came home to an empty house that evening. He wished they had more time together, or that they at least could have said a proper goodbye. He felt it was his fault. If he hadn't stopped her from kissing him last night, she would have stayed.

"You fucked up," he spoke lowly to himself. "You really fucked up this time."

He walked to the guest room. The bed wasn't made. He sat down on the bed and grabbed the pillow to see if he could catch her scent on it. He placed it down on his lap and once again looked around. She hadn't left anything. Not that there was anything to leave in the first place. She didn't own much. He opened the drawer to the nightstand to see if she had missed anything. To his horror he found a kitchen knife and some bloody paper towels left there. Everything changed in that second. He found his phone and dialed Lacey right away.

"Hello?" She asked.  
"It's Roman," he said.  
"Hi, Roman. What can I do for you?" She asked.  
"Did Spring arrive okay?" He asked.  
"Arrive?" She asked confused. "She's not here. Isn't she with you?"

He ran his hand down his face in frustration. She had played him that morning. She had waited until the right moment where he didn't have time to talk or argue, and he had believed her. If he had the time to stay and talk, she knew he would see right through that lie.

"Shit!" He growled.  
"Where's my sister, Roman?" She asked.  
"I don't know. She said she was going to live with you," he said.  
"You better find my sister!" She raised her voice. "I am not losing her again! You hear me? Find her!"

He hung up, went to his laptop and googled for every hotel, motel and B&B in the area. She had to be somewhere. She didn't have anyone that could help her. He started calling every place asking for a Spring Evans until someone finally said she was staying with them.

"Keep her there. This is official police business. Don't tell her anything. I'm on my way," he said.

He didn't like using his badge as an excuse but that was exactly what he did. When he arrived, he waved the badge at the poor guy behind the counter of the motel to get her room number. He walked down to the room and knocked. As expected he didn't get a response. He kept knocking though.

"Open up, Spring!" He yelled. "I know you're in there. I'll get a key at the front desk if you don't open."

She finally opened with her face red and swollen from crying. He couldn't stay mad at her. He pulled her into his arms and held her tight.

"I was so scared," he said.  
"Why?" She asked.  
"I thought you were dead," he said.  
"I didn't survive five years in that place to kill myself," she said.  
"Okay, get your shit. No more lies or fooling around like this. If you don't wanna stay with me, tell me. I'll help you find a job and a place to live. You can't run off like this," he said.

He didn't know what she had planned. He knew she didn't have money to stay more than a night or two. He had given her some cash in case she wanted to venture out on her own while he was working. She had spent his cash on this room. She quickly gathered her things and went back home with him. She knew he was right. It had been a stupid move on her part.

"I gotta call Lacey and tell her I found you," he said. "I'm sure she wants to speak to you too."  
"I'm too tired. I'm going to bed," she said.

Before he could argue against that, she had gone to her room. Meanwhile he called Lacey and told her everything was okay. He couldn't do anything in that moment but he wasn't gonna drop it. He had tomorrow off. She wouldn't be able to hide from him the entire day.

She stayed in her room for a couple of hours. She couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned before giving up. She sat up and opened the drawer in the nightstand. The knife and the paper towels were gone. Roman knew and he hadn't said anything. It didn't matter in that moment. She still needed some sort of relief. She snuck through the darkness out to the kitchen. She opened the knife drawer and looked for the small knife.

"Looking for this?" He asked.

She turned around and saw him standing with the knife in his hand. She didn't know what to say so she just kept staring at him in awkward silence until he spoke again.

"Where did you cut yourself?" He asked.  
"Nowhere," she answered.  
"Don't lie!" He gritted his teeth.

He slammed the knife down on the kitchen table.

"This fucking hurts to know, so at least be honest with me. Show me where you cut yourself," he said.

He stared in surprised as she dropped her pyjamas pants down to the floor and angled her leg so he could see her thigh.

"Satisfied?" She asked.  
"God damn it, Spring," he muttered. "Why?"  
"I can't deal with this pain inside. If I hurt myself, I can tend to the wound and make the pain go away. It took my mind off everything and I needed that. Especially after last night. I threw myself at you and you didn't want me. I didn't know how to handle it on top of everything else," she said.  
"It's not that I don't want you," he said.  
"Bullshit!" She yelled.

She left her pyjamas pants on the floor and pushed past him. He followed behind and stopped her in the hallway before she could lock herself in her room.

"Listen to me!" He said firmly. "I do want you. I've wanted you since I saw you. But yesterday I wasn't in the right mindset. I wasn't gonna tell you but I need to live by my own 'no lies' rule. Yesterday I had to sit and watch a tape of you being raped by two men. I'm sure you remember that day and don't wanna relive it. But seeing you like that made it feel so wrong to kiss you."

She clenched his t-shirt and stared at him. It hurt to know he had seen that, and still he was lucky. He had only seen that one day. There were five more years of that.

"That was the first day there," she said.  
"I figured," he said. "I'm sorry I hurt you last night but I didn't mean to. You gotta believe me."  
"Why are you so good to me? Why do you make me feel the way I feel? I don't know how to handle it, and I can't stay mad at you even though I want to. I've never trusted anyone the way I trust you. I look at you and I feel safe. What am I gonna do, Roman? Tell me what to do," she said.

He leaned down and kissed her. To hell with everything else. He wanted her. He pulled her with him into his bedroom and laid her down on the bed. He crawled downwards between her legs and studied the cuts. Not too deep. They would heal in no time. He traced his finger under one of them.

"Broken," she said.  
"Huh?" He looked up at him.  
"I spoke my feelings while cutting. That one means I'm broken," she said.

He smiled and placed a gentle kiss on the cut.

"In the process of healing," he said.

He pointed to the next cut.

"Worthless," she said.  
"So damn worthy," he said.

He kissed that cut too and pointed to the last one.

"Unlovable," she said.  
"Lovable and deserving of that love," he smirked. "I'll prove that to you personally."

He kissed the final cut and looked up at her again. He could see the gratitude in her eyes. It meant a lot to her that he handled it that way.

"Now what?" She asked.  
"Now I'm gonna make you feel really good," he said.

He grabbed her panties and pulled them off her. He settled back down between her legs and slowly ran his tongue around her clit. He took his time with the slow movement, upping the pace little by little as time went. He only used his tongue. His hands were on her thighs while he pushed her over the edge after several minutes.

He raised his head and watched her. She looked so blissful lying there with her eyes closed. He pulled his t-shirt off and gently wiped off the mess he had made between her legs. He threw the t-shirt on the floor and put her panties back on. She opened her eyes and looked at him confused. He crawled up her body and kissed her.

"We need to sleep. I hope you're gonna sleep in here tonight," he said.  
"I don't understand," she said.  
"I just needed you to see that I'm not out to hurt you. That I'll do right by you. And that I'll make you feel good," he said. "Hopefully."  
"It was fucking amazing," she said.  
"Good," he chuckled. "Now let's sleep."

He lied down and she crawled up to lie on his chest. He held on to her and kissed the top of her head. It felt so good to have her in his bed. He could wait with sex for as long as it took. He had gotten his message across tonight. He wanted her.

"Thank you," she said.  
"Anything for you, little bear," he said.


	6. Plans

Roman woke up to an empty bed. He could hear Spring's voice coming from somewhere in the house. He walked out and found her on the couch in the living room, clearly talking to Lacey on the phone. She sounded happy.

"Alright, I'll see you then," she said. "I love you too, Lacey. Bye."

She hung up and smiled at Roman. He sat down next to her. She handed his phone back to him. He needed to get her a phone of her own.

"Everything good here?" He asked.  
"Yes, we were just planning when we can meet up again. During the Summer holiday, they're gonna come here for a short vacation," she said.  
"Are they gonna stay in my house?" He asked.  
"You ain't got room for three more people," she laughed. "She's gonna book a hotel. We're not gonna hang out all the time. It's their vacation. They'll have other things to do as well but we'll catch up."

He leaned in and kissed her shoulder.

"You seem happy," he said.  
"Right now I am happy," she said.  
"Let's keep it that way," he said.

He kissed her and hummed happily at the feeling of her lips against his.

"This feels good," he said. "It's my day off today. Should we go to the thrift store or something? Make a little field day out of it maybe."  
"I'd love that," she said.  
"Great," he said. "Breakfast and shower, and then we'll head out."  
"I also made another plan," she said.  
"With who?" He asked.  
"No, in general," she said.

She gave him a smile and pecked his lips.

"You're so good to me. You're giving me space and time while constantly being here. I know you need to know everything that happened to me," she said.  
"I can wait," he said.  
"But I can't," she said. "I know Kurt is waiting for me to come and give a full statement of what I experienced in there. I would like for you to be in the room with me. On my side of the table."  
"I can arrange that," he said.  
"Any day next week. As quickly as possible. I want this done so you know what you're in for," she said.  
"I'll set it up for Monday," he said.

She smiled again. This smile was a bit more sad but he could see it meant the world to her that he was meeting her on her terms. It was important to him too. He needed to know what she had gone through before they could start a serious relationship. There would without a doubt be days where she would break down for no reason, and he needed to know how to handle it the best way possible.

"I need therapy too," she said.  
"We'll start making calls until you find someone you feel you can trust enough to talk to," he said.  
"And I need a job. Either something I can do from home or somewhere without too many people," he said.  
"How about somewhere safe?" He asked. "Our assistant is leaving in a couple of months. We call her our coffee chatter since she mostly makes coffee and chats with us. It's easy work. Make some coffee, file something, answer the phone if no one else is around, run small errands. But I can't think of a more safe place for you to work than inside a police station. And you got a couple of months to get started on therapy first so you'll feel better once you start working."

She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of her in his arms. So fragile yet so strong. She broke the hug and looked down.

"And then there's us," she said.

He tipped her head back up to make her look at him again.

"Whatever it is, you can tell me," she said.  
"What you did last night," she said.  
"I'll do it again anytime you want," he smirked.  
"I wanna give you something back eventually. I just don't feel like I'm ready for sex yet. I don't wanna freak out and somehow see you as one of them," she said.  
"I can wait," he said.  
"Are you sure?" She asked.

He pulled her up to sit on his lap and kept his arms around her midsection.

"I thought I proved that last night," he said. "I can wait for as long as it takes. I'm not delusional. I know this will take time, and that in many aspects it'll be two steps forward and one step back, but that's okay. As long as you tell me what's on your mind so I can understand what you're going through. We're gonna take it at your pace. And if you say stop, I'll stop. No matter what it is."  
"You're amazing," she said.  
"I try," he grinned. "Now kiss me, little bear."

She kissed him until he stood up and placed her down on the floor.

"Do you wanna shower first, or should I?" He asked.  
"You're making breakfast," she said.  
"Oh, am I now?" He asked.  
"I want chocolate pancakes," she grinned. "With vanilla if you got any vanilla extract lying around."  
"You're pushing it," he chuckled. "If I beat you to the shower, you're cooking pancakes."

She took off running before he got a chance to stop her. He heard her laugh as she reached the bathroom. He walked out there and saw her standing in the open door.

"I win," she said.

He leaned down and kissed her.

"Then I better make breakfast," he said. "Chocolate/vanilla pancakes. That's not healthy, you know."  
"It's your day off," she reminded him.  
"And it's gonna be the best day off in ages," he said.


End file.
